Objet Geometries’ 3D printers have been used to create concept models for Real Steel, a science-fiction action film based on the premise that by 2020 the sport of boxing will no longer be played by humans, but by robots.

To make the robots as real as possible for the film, the design company Legacy Effects used an Objet 3D printer to produce the 1/5th-scale models.

Once built, hand painted and approved, the full-scale Atom, Noisy Boy and Ambush animatronic robots went into production, to be used alongside motion-capture technology for the film’s fight scenes.

According to Legacy Effects, using Objet’s 3D printers shortened the time it took for its designers to take their concepts through to full-scale production and also allowed the studio to save on reshoots, editing and post production, enabling a faster time to market and lower overall costs.